


Baddie

by purpleeyesandbowties



Series: Addy and the Maitlands [4]
Category: Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff and Angst, Multi, THE CHILD IS SAFE I PROMISE, parenting fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 11:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19811788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purpleeyesandbowties/pseuds/purpleeyesandbowties
Summary: Beetlejuice is insecure about his ability to be a good father to the born-dead Addy Maitland, and a good partner to Adam and Barbara. But he's still the ghost with the most, and when Addy's in danger and the Maitlands need him, he will do whatever it takes to keep his family safe.





	Baddie

**Author's Note:**

> hey! this is a continuation of another fic i've written, Born-Dead, but it's not necessary to read the first to understand this one. here's what you need to know:  
> 1) in this AU, people who die while pregnant have a chance to still be pregnant after death. the resulting children are referred to as Born-Dead and are typically more powerful than your average ghost. (beetlejuice is also a born-dead kid).  
> 2) beetlejuice and the maitlands are dating. they're all happy with this arrangement but beetlejuice sometimes gets insecure about his place with them as a married couple.  
> 3) Adam and Barbara's born-dead child is named Addison "Addy" Bastard Maitland
> 
> Trigger warnings for temporary child endangerment, violence, and parental PDA. 
> 
> thanks to GingerTyPerior (ao3) for the beta! it helped tremendously. Also thanks to the beetlejuice discord for collectively creating this beautiful child with me!

Watching Addy, the Maitland’s born-dead son, grow up, and being involved in his life was a strange experience for Beetlejuice. Despite all the time he’d spent on earth, the concept of aging never really hit him. Maybe it was because he was there for Addy’s birth, or maybe because he saw the kid every day, but watching him go from a squishy blob of flesh to something that could think and express himself was maybe the coolest thing he’d ever witnessed. Addison ‘Addy’ Maitland had all the blue-eyed cuteness of the Maitlands, Beetlejuice’s own shockingly bright hair, and Lydia’s penchant for mischief, even at his young age. Addy had been born with Adam’s brown hair, but when he was two months old, the family woke up to a shock of electric blue hair.

“Ha!” Beetlejuice had crowed. “See? He got something from me after all!”

“Did you dye our baby’s hair in the middle of the night?” Barbara asked. Beetlejuice shook his head gleefully. 

“For once, I’m innocent! Kids who are born dead, from parents who were pregnant when they died—like me and him—sometimes end up with hair that changes color. I was wondering if that would happen with Addy.”

He was giddy for the rest of the day. He didn’t tell the Maitlands, but that little thing made him feel a little more connected to Addy. Like he was really a part of the kid’s life and not just hanging around for the hell of it. But the born-dead hair was where Beetlejuice’s claim on Addy ended. Despite being on diaper duty, despite hours spent trying to convince him to sleep, despite sharing a bed with Addy’s mom and dad every night, Beetlejuice felt oddly removed from the whole thing, an observer occasionally asked to participate. Addy was the Maitland’s son, first and foremost, and Beetlejuice was an extra. An add-on. A bonus. The third wheel in a tricycle designed to be a bicycle. He loved Addy, that could not be denied. It burned in his chest like the world’s worst case of heartburn. The baby would babble or spit up or smile at him and it felt like Beetlejuice was being stabbed all over again, directly into his heart—a kill shot every time. _Fuck,_ he loved that kid so goddamn much. And yet…

And yet. Addy was old enough to manage simple words and toddle around with the support of a parent holding his hands, and Beetlejuice still felt something was wrong. Maybe it was because Addy could call for ‘mama’ and ‘dada’, but, for some reason, ‘Beetlejuice’ was outside his grasp. Beetlejuice thought he’d been called ‘dada’ a few times, but it could have been a mistake. And Beetlejuice wasn’t a fuckin’ mind reader, maybe Addy was telling him to go get his real dad! A kid instinctively knew his mom and dad, right? What about…whatever Beetlejuice was? Because Beetlejuice wasn’t his dad, not really. He had no part in the making of this kid. That kind of fun with the Maitlands had come later and would never result in another Addison again—the pesky ‘whole being dead’ thing made sure of that. He wasn’t even Barbara or Adam’s husband. He was more of a ‘boyfriend’, ‘other’, or ‘annoyance’ kind of guy, depending on who a person asked. 

But he loved Addy as much as he would have loved a biological kid of his own—hell, maybe more by virtue of Addy being the Maitlands’.

The Maitlands could assure him they wanted him there, and he mostly believed them about it. The real kicker was that he had no way of knowing if Addy loved him back, or if the Maitlands actually found him to be essential to their lives, the way he saw them and Addy as essential to his. The uncertainty stuck in his throat like a rock, or a beetle he couldn’t swallow.

One sticky summer evening, Addy kept squirming in his arms, whimpering for ‘Mama’. Barbara had asked him to take Addy for an hour or so while she took a break, but it seemed Addy had other plans that didn’t include Beetlejuice. After about twenty minutes of watching Beetlejuice beg/bribe the baby down from the edge of tears, Adam sighed impatiently and held out his arms. 

“Just give him here,” he said crossly. The instant Addy hit Adam’s arms, he settled down. 

The rock-feeling in Beetlejuice’s throat swelled up too much to bear, so he just left. He ended up on the roof, his feet dangling from the edge. Lydia called it his brooding spot, but that was totally not what he was doing. He just needed a minute to himself. And to cry a little, maybe, about what a shitty not-father he was. But that really was no one else’s business. From inside the house, he could hear the sounds of Addy settling down for the night, complete with Adam singing a lullaby and Addy’s soft cooing gurgles, followed by one loud, wet burp. That made him smile, at least. Human babies were adorably disgusting. They knew how to make messes like a pro and sometimes even got rewarded for it. His shoulders sagged as he looked up at the sky, habitually searching for his namesake, Betelgeuse. For all that she was a callous bitch, Beetlejuice thought that in some small way, Juno had wanted him. She’d named him after the brightest star in the sky, after all. 

The Maitlands had named their kid ‘Addison’ after an elderly relative of Barbara’s. Lydia had pointed out that it meant ‘son of Adam’ with amusement. Beetlejuice had been given the honor of deciding on a middle name. He’d picked Bastard, for obvious reasons—it was hilarious. When Lydia had heard what he’d picked, she laughed so hard it almost triggered an asthma attack. That made the two nights Barbara had kicked him out of bed totally worth it. 

Beetlejuice was jarred out of his thought when the familiar sounds inside took an unexpected turn—there was a _bang,_ a scream, and a bright flash of light. Beetlejuice raised his eyebrows but didn’t move just yet. Addy, just shy of a year old, was pretty damn powerful, even for a born-dead baby. Sometimes when he was tired or stressed, his powers got away from him and he manifested something strange or made a big noise. The first few times, Beetlejuice had taken pride in being the authority on ghost powers, but it happened frequently enough that the combined forces of Adam, Barbara, and Lydia could deal with whatever Addy made appear in his crib. But this time, there was more screaming than normal, several voices overlapping, and they were definitely more panicked than surprised. Beetlejuice was about to go see if Addy had stirred up more trouble than the Maitlands could handle when Lydia slammed open a window and practically threw her entire body outside to scream at him.

“Get the fuck in here, right now!”

Beetlejuice shot to his feet. Lydia’s tone of voice bartered no argument and, for once, he didn’t feel the need to quip about it. Apparently, he was still too slow, because Lydia shouted his name three times. Her summoning dragged him, none too gently, to her side. He shook his head and blinked away stars. Around them, the house was a mess. A chalk outline of a door glowed faintly on the far wall. Barbara was slamming her fists desperately against the closed doorframe and Adam sat in the middle of the floor like someone had cut the strings holding him up. The crib was tipped over on one side. Addy was….nowhere to be seen.

Beetlejuice grabbed Lydia by the shoulders. “What happened?”

Shakily, she said, “Someone—a ghost, maybe—someone came in through a Netherworld door and—she took—she took—”

Beetlejuice whirled around. His eyes latched onto Adam first and he pulled him to his feet. They both stumbled over to Barbara. He grabbed her wrists and wrenched her away from the door.

“Let me go! They have Addison!” Barbara shouted, fighting against him. He let her hit him, over and over, ineffectively. He gathered her and a limp, boneless Adam into his arms, squeezing them tightly against him.

“We can’t go after him,” Adam said dumbly, shocked into emotionlessness. “We can’t leave the house. We’ll be stuck in the Netherworld.”

“Hey, listen,” Beetlejuice said, giving Adam a gentle shake. “Listen! I’m going. I’m gonna get him back.”

That brought some life back into Adam’s blank eyes and Beetlejuice was so relieved he crushed a kiss against his mouth.

“Can you?” Barbara asked desperately.

“How?” Lydia piped up. She had one hand curled up in the fabric of Barbara’s dress. There was fear and rage in her face, but also terrifying doubt.

“I’m stronger than the Maitlands, I can go between the Netherworld and here without getting stuck.”

He said it was confidence he didn’t fully have. Since he’d been brought to life and killed, his powers were less demon and more common ghost. He still had some pretty serious juice, but not near what he had before, and he was sorely out of practice. To get Addy back, though, he’d do whatever he had to. He had no other choice.

Beetlejuice peeled the Maitlands off him. He cracked his neck, shook out his hands, and said, “Adam, Babs, I know you’re both freaked out, but I need one of you to draw me a door.”

Barbara swallowed hard and nodded, her eyes sharp and focused. She drew the door with precision, each line harsh enough to crack her chalk.

“Cover your eyes so you don’t get dragged in,” he warned. Before he could open the door, Barbara said, “Wait!”

She threw her arms around him and kissed him. “You better come back in one piece.”

Adam joined the hug. “We can’t lose both of you.”

“You won’t,” Beetlejuice promised roughly. He cleared his throat. “I better get going.”

“I’m going with you,” Lydia said, stepping up to the door. He put a fond hand on her head, pushing her back a few steps. 

“Nope, not happening.”

“Why not? I’ve been to the Netherworld before, I can help!”

“Whoever did this is enough of a creep to kidnap a baby. I can’t be worried about keeping my eye on another kid while I’m going after Addy.”

Lydia narrowed her eyes. “If you don’t bring him back, I’m gonna kick your ass,” she said fiercely.

Beetlejuice chuckled darkly. “Kid, if I don’t bring him back, I’ll exorcise myself.”

“Why is this happening? What did we do?” Adam asked.

Beetlejuice ran a hand through his hair, thinking. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because Addy’s born-dead. Those are rare—like, one in a millennium rare—and he’s already so powerful. Some creep with a good sniffer for juice might’ve gotten wind of him. Really, I don’t give a fuck _why_. I’m still gonna kill whoever did this.”

He took a deep breath, taking stock of Adam and Barbara, clinging together and pale from fear, Lydia’s worried eyes, and his own shaking hands. He clenched them into fists. He shoved down the things he wanted to say, should say, in favor of a simple, “I’ll be back soon.”

He opened the door.

—

The door dumped him out in the middle of a huge, dark plain. The only light source was a spiraling white light that stretched out in a random pattern around him. There wasn’t a single soul, ghost, demon, or ghoul to be seen. Beetlejuice scoffed. As if he had expected something different. The vastness of the Netherworld yawned on endlessly, designed to keep people from finding each other. That would make it difficult to locate Addy, but hey, that was the goal. So, points to the Netherworld bureaucracy for effectiveness. Every way he turned, the landscape looked the same, so he picked a direction and started moving. He tuned out everything else around him—which really wasn’t much—in order to concentrate on finding Addy. Power had more of a scent than a visual presence, but traces of souls that had been in the area recently made it tough to separate any one of them. After a few agonizing minutes of aimless wandering, he caught a whiff of a familiar juice.

“Stinky kid,” he muttered to himself with a tiny grin. That smile quickly faded as he caught the stench of another ghost’s power mixing with Addy’s—the culprit who decided she could fuck up Beetlejuice’s whole life in less than a minute and the audacity to think she could get away with it.

The one good thing about the emptiness of the Netherworld was that there was nowhere for her to hide. The few solitary souls who happened to be nearby all but scattered when they caught sight of Beetlejuice. Infamy had its perks, and, if he wanted to guess, no one wanted to mess with the ghost who killed Juno. That left Beetlejuice and Addy’s kidnapper, alone and hopefully defenseless. He kept pace with her power walk, content to keep it like that while he worked out a plan. She must have known she was being followed, but there was really nothing she could do about it. Hunching her shoulders, she broke into a sudden run. Addy’s surprised scream made tracking them all the easier, but the sound made blood thunder in Beetlejuice’s ears. From over the captor’s shoulder, Beetlejuice saw a jarring flash of pure-white hair and knew his own was surely an angry red. His kid, his baby, his _son,_ was terrified out of his mind. For that, more than anything else, she would pay.

Beetlejuice decided to leave planning to the wayside and go—well, full Beetlejuice. Two Beetle-clones popped up in front of the fleeing ghost, boxing her in with their arms. Two more appeared on either side of her, and a final pair behind her. She stopped in her tracks, nowhere to go. Beetlejuice strolled up, near enough to be a threat but not so near the ghost would feel the need to bolt. Every instinct in him screamed to attack, but he kept his voice even and calm, his hands in his pockets.

“No honor amongst thieves, I know, but kidnapping a toddler? That’s a new low, even for low-lives like us,” he said congenially. “Now, normally, I wouldn’t give a shit, but you did make one grave mistake: that was my son you decided to take.”

The ghost turned around slowly. She didn’t look like much—certainly not a heavy-hitter, juice-wise. There was a bullet hole in the side of her head, but otherwise, nothing noteworthy. Addy cried loudly, but the flash of red in his hair did a lot to settle Beetlejuice’s nerves. Helpless as he was, Addy was still angry. He was a fighter, just like Beetlejuice.

“This is yours?” she asked, voice strangled. “I was told he was the spawn of two low-level ghosts! A pair of nobodies who wouldn’t be able to control him anyway.”

Beetlejuice growled, “And that was another mistake. If you don’t want it to be your last, I’d get talking. Who told you that?”

“My boss, Juno!”

“Juno? Bullshit. I fed her to a sandworm.”

“It’s the truth, I swear! She wanted the next born-dead kid, replace the one who betrayed her. That’s, uh, you. I guess.”

Part of Beetlejuice wanted to grill her on how Juno survived, what she was doing now, and where he could go to kill her again. Instead, he said, “Addy is more my kid than that power-hungry bitch was ever my mother. And I’ll be taking him back now. So. Give him.”

She tensed up, eyes flicking to the Beetle-clones still positioned around her, clearly expecting a physical attack. That wasn’t exactly what Beetlejuice had in mind. She still had Addy and if he wanted him back safe, they’d have to take an alternate route. So he smiled sharply and pushed his spirit into the body of the ghost. It wasn’t a full possession, really, just enough of a shock to dislodge her soul for a second. He popped out again, and, just as he’d hoped, the ghost was so surprised she dropped Addy, who fell straight into the waiting arms of one of the clones with a short wail.

The ghost swore loudly and made a grab for Addy. While his clones played keep-away, Beetlejuice got to do what he’d been itching to since he caught sight of her: he rolled up his sleeves and socked her in the face. And then in the stomach. And he kicked her in the groin for good measure, just to cover all his bases. Then he grabbed her by the collar and hauled her upright.

“Please, I was just doing what I was told!” she squeaked.

“Hmm,” said Beetlejuice, unmoved. “But you still did it.”

Addy, whose sobs had quieted into shaking little gasps, started up in earnest again. This time, between wails, he managed to force out a word. “Baddie!”

“Addison?” Beetlejuice said, surprised enough to drop the ghost on her ass. She scuttled back, clearly scared out of her mind, but he had more pressing matters at hand. Addy stretched out his hands to Beetlejuice. He was a mess of snot, streaky tears, and wild hair, and he was the most beautiful thing Beetlejuice had ever seen.

“God, Addy, I’m here,” Beetlejuice managed, through the lump in his throat. He took the baby from his clone’s arms and gave him a quick once-over. Addy seemed shaken up but relatively unharmed. He’d dirtied his diaper, but that was to be expected. Under his shirt, the beginnings of fingerprint bruises were blooming on his delicate skin, but Addy didn’t cry when Beetlejuice touched them. _Tough kid,_ Beetlejuice thought with a fleeting smile _._ He ran a hand over Addy’s hair and kissed his temple, pushing away his rage for a better time and a different target.

“You okay, buddy? You’re safe now, I got you, I got you. I’ll keep you safe,” he crooned.

Addy started crying again, but it was different this time. It was the cleansing kind of cry that meant he knew he was safe and wanted to express his acute displeasure of the current situation. Beetlejuice realized Addy wasn’t crying because he was scared anymore. He was crying because he trusted Beetlejuice to comfort him. Between gasps for breath, Addy repeated that word, over and over, _baddie, baddie, baddie._ Beetlejuice finally swallowed the rock-feeling in his throat and tucked Addy securely against his chest. 

To his clones, he said, “I have to get Addy back to the house. You’re on cleanup duty.”

“Cleanup?” The ghost asked nervously. She hadn’t tried to bolt, which meant she was either more scared or more stupid than Beetlejuice had given her credit for. Just like that, rage gripped Beetlejuice’s chest again, cold and hot at the same time.

“You have five seconds to run. Then my buddies are gonna rip you apart. And I mean that literally. Don’t worry—you’ll reassemble yourself eventually. And when you do, tell your boss that if she has a problem, she can take it up with me herself. But also tell her what I did to you. So she knows what’s waiting for her if she decides to fuck with my family again.”

The ghost scrambled away. Beetlejuice gave her a full ten-second head start before snapping his fingers. The Beetle-clones snapped to attention and gave him a sharp salute before tearing off after her. Once they’d all disappeared into the murk of the Netherworld, a promising cacophony of screams and grisly sounds coming from the dark, he sighed, allowing himself a moment of weak knees. Addy whimpered, “Baddie?”

That made Beetlejuice smile. He wasn’t sure where the word had come from, but it had the same feeling to it as ‘mama’ or ‘dada’. Even better, it was just for him. He magicked up a clean handkerchief. As he scrubbed carefully at the tears, snot, sweat, and dirt covering Addy’s face, he said, “Hey, Ads. I’m still here, don’t worry. Your baddie’s got you.”

—

By the time they got back to the house, Beetlejuice was exhausted. The combination of stress and adrenaline had wiped him out—geez, is that what being old was like? Was he getting _old?—_ plus, he hadn’t had much chance to stretch his powers in the past year or so. They’d grown a bit stagnant. Addy had quickly nodded off into a fitful sleep against his shoulder, leaving an impressive patch of drool every time he turned his head. Beetlejuice kept stopping to brush Addy’s hair out of his eyes or touch his face—little things he’d watched Adam and Barbara do, but never felt quite comfortable doing himself. Now it was all he could do to keep moving and not get lost in the awe of knowing _he’s mine, he trusts me to keep him safe, I almost didn’t keep him safe…_

So the second he crossed the threshold from the Netherland to the Deetzes’ house and the door swung shut behind him, he put his back against the door and collapsed (carefully) on the floor. Addy woke up long enough to shift position, but slipped back under again with a tiny sigh. The Maitlands were frozen in nearly the same position he’d left them in. Still clinging to each other, still in the middle of the room. Someone, probably Lydia, had gotten chairs for them both, but they perched on the seats like they weren’t real. Barbara was floating a few centimeters off hers. They both looked haggard. To him, it had been under an hour, but there was no telling if it was the same for them. Judging by the lack of light in the room, it must have been the middle of the night.

“I’m back,” Beetlejuice said. “We’re back,” he amended, hoisting Addy up so that he was visible to the Maitlands. Barbara let out a strangled sound and practically dove for the two of them. Beetlejuice cradled Addy safely against his chest while returning Barbara’s hug. The force of it knocked the wind out of him for a second, but he didn’t care. Beetlejuice handed Addy over to her. It hurt a little, but Barbara was Addy’s mother and Beetlejuice’s partner, and if anyone else could be trusted to keep him safe, it was her. While Barbara cried and cooed, Beetlejuice leveraged himself off the floor and walked over to Adam. He cupped Adam’s cheek in one hand and used the other to pull him to his feet.

“Addy’s safe,” he confirmed, knowing the question Adam was too scared to ask. From his pocket, he took out a severed ear, delivered to him a few minutes earlier by a clone. He pressed it into Adam’s hand. 

“What is this?” Adam asked, the horror and revulsion in his voice almost as strong his confusion.

“What’s left of the person who thought she could take Addy away from us,” Beetlejuice said darkly, deciding to keep the news about their newly-undead, worst mother-in-law possible for another time. Adam’s hand closed around it for a moment. Carefully, he put it down on his chair and he and Beetlejuice joined Barbara on the floor. He took Addy gently and murmured a string of words—Beetlejuice caught ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘you’re safe’, the same affirmations Beetlejuice had been bestowing all evening. Beetlejuice leaned in and kissed the only place on Adam he could reach, which happened to his shoulder. He rested his chin on the juncture of Adam’s shoulder and back. Adam turned his face away from Addy and the edge of his lips caught Beetlejuice’s cheek.

“Are you okay?” he asked. 

“Not a scratch on me,” Beetlejuice promised.

“Thank goodness you’re both safe,” Barbara said. “And thank you, Beetlejuice. Really. Thank you.”

Beetlejuice blurted out, “I love you both.” He didn’t say it often but if any occasion called for it, this was it. “And Addy.”

“We love you too,” Barbara said. “All three of us.”

Addy yawned and snuggled against Adam’s shoulder. His eyes drifted open.

“Hey little man, how are you?” Adam asked softly.

“Dada,” Addy said, reaching up. Adam stuck out a finger for Addy to grab. 

“That’s right. And Mama’s here, too, look.”

Addy made a sound like a raspberry. Barbara laughed.

“Beetlejuice is here, too. He saved you, do you remember that?”

“Baddie,” Addy confirmed happily. Seemingly satisfied, he sighed again and closed his eyes. 

“Baddie? When did he start calling you that?” Lydia asked. The Maitlands flinched in surprise—they hadn’t noticed her leaning against the doorframe.

“Not sure,” Beetlejuice said, standing up and offering his hands to the others. 

“I like it,” Lydia decided. “It’s like he combined ‘daddy’ and ‘Beetlejuice’. Probably not intentionally, but still. It’s cute.” She held out a diaper bag and a wet washcloth. “I can be cleanup duty, if you want,” she added.

“No, let me,” said Beetlejuice. She made a face at him like ‘you? really?’ and he stuck out his tongue in response. In the end, all three parents of Addison Maitland helped clean him up and put him to bed. And all three of them slept on the floor around his crib that night—well. None of them really slept. But they were all there, watching over him and talking in low voices. Trading soft touches and gentle reassurances.

Reminders of who they were and where they belonged. They were a family, and they were together.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm sidras-tak on tumblr, come chat!


End file.
